Of Cousins and Consultants
by Fireflight323
Summary: Skye Harper, cousin of famed detective Sherlock Holmes, has been living in London for almost a year. She helps her cousin solve crimes, but soon discovers that she has been drawn into a deep web and can no longer find her way out. Forced to make a decision between two lives, does she stay with her cousin, or go with the mysterious man she calls her boyfriend?


**Hi! This is my first published fanfiction, which I have been thinking about for a while. It starts just before 1x03. Please feel free to R &R to let me know what you think. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy it! ^_^ **

"You must believe yourself to be incredibly clever, don't you?"

"Why of course. I have to keep my mind sharp in order to keep up with you, Sherlock."

"Yes, well, you manage, although at times with a most amusing difficulty."

He rose from his armchair and looked over at the front door of his flat. She knew he was waiting for John to return from his shopping trip. Smiling, she stood up and moved into the kitchen, careful to avoid the myriad of test tubes and unfinished experiments as she poured herself a cup of tea. It was part of the most recent batch that Mrs. Hudson had brought up for them.

 _Quite nice of her,_ she thought, _for Mrs. Hudson to leave tea and biscuits constantly, despite her consistent claim that she isn't the boys' housekeeper._ She grinned to herself, thinking of the last time the old woman had said as much to Sherlock.

"Have you discovered anything new on your latest case?"

"Please, I've already finished with that. Got terribly boring when the widow made such ridiculous attempts to help solve it; it was unbearably obvious that she was an accomplice."

"Isn't it always, to you? So, in other words, you solved it," she said, taking a sip of her tea. "I'm sure that Lestrade is very grateful for your assistance."

"Of course I solved it. I'm not one of the bloody idiots he employs, now am I? I'm certainly not Anderson."

She giggled as she returned to her seat by the window, always entertained by her ability to irritate the genius detective.

"No, you aren't. You are the great and masterful Sherlock Holmes! Nothing at all gets past you."

He turned on her then, his coat swishing behind him, a reminder that he had not taken it off in the hours since returning home that day. He looked truly annoyed now, a suspicion confirmed when he began to lecture her.

"No, nothing gets past me, including the fact that your boyfriend is ignoring you. Quite bothersome, isn't it? You have sent him two texts in the past hour, but he has responded to neither. 'Oh, but Sherlock, what if my phone is set to vibrate?' Because it is you whose boyfriend we are referring to, and you, Miss Harper, only ever turn your phones ringer off if you are absolutely required to, mostly because you take a disproportionate amount of pleasure in bothering me with the pointless noises you have set to play. Anyway, the fact that he hasn't replied to your current texts leaves only three options as to why, considering he always responds within five minutes; he's very aware of you, by the way, this man of yours. One: he's cheating on you. Not likely, you two have been together for months, five or six to be more precise, although that does not account for the time before I was made aware of his existence. He seems extremely fond of you, not the previously mentioned response time to you messages, combined with the obscene number of time the pair of you go on dates every week. Therefore, no I doubt he's conveying his affections to another woman. Two: he's busy with work. That would not make a difference to him, you have become a priority. Again, note the speed at which he usually responds; he makes time for you. So we end up with option three: he's ignoring you. I'm sure that must frustrate you endlessly, hence the fidgeting and apparent need to pester me with ridiculous quotes and facts about literature when you know I am thinking. So if you are quite finished with you attempts to insult me, I will return to my thoughts in peace and quiet."

She stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to say. He was right in his deductions of course, he always was. At this point in their friendship, she was not phased by his cruelty, but the acknowledgement of her frustration did suffice to agitate her a bit. She figured that had been the point of his outburst, to bother her, if only the tiniest bit. It was something the both of them would partake in quite regularly, at some points trying to outdo the other."

"Well that was awfully nice of you, Sherlock."

Both of them turned to look at the speaker, standing by the door with a bag of groceries.

"Ah, John, you're back. Perfect timing, we're all going out." Sherlock rushed over as he spoke, grabbing the bag from John and tossing it on the little spot of the counter uncovered by his experiments.

"Out? Out where? I've only just gotten back."

"To dinner of course. Skye's got no plans. Didn't you hear? Her boyfriends ignoring her."

Skye snorted and rolled her eyes, setting down her half-full cup. It seemed she wouldn't have the chance to finish it until later. She stood up and walked over to the door, grabbing her jacket off the back of John's chair on her way by. Sherlock brushed past John and practically bounced down the stairs, Skye right behind him. John heaved a sigh of annoyance at their sudden change in plans, closing the door to the flat as he turned to follow them out.

Sherlock smirked at Skye as he pulled the door open, holding it for her while giving a mocking bow. He closed it behind John after he had walked out, both of them climbing into the cab Skye already had waiting at the curb. She settled herself between them while Sherlock prattled off the address of some café John had recently mentioned wanting to try. They sat in relative silence until they reached their destination.

The three of them got a table inside and sat down, each looking at the menu for a few minutes before deciding what they wanted. Eventually, John looked over at Sherlock and sighed again.

"Why exactly did you decide we had to go out for dinner tonight?"

Sherlock leaned back in his chair, watching Skye as she continued to look through the menu.

"Thought we could all spend some time together, since I'm leaving for my little trip in the morning."

"Spend some time together? Seems a bit too sentimental for you, Sherlock." Skye looked up at him for a moment before looking back down at her phone, tucked behind the menu in an attempt to hide it from him.

"Have to be sometimes, to appease a simple minded girl like you. And stop checking your phone, he's not going to text you for another couple of hours, if he stops ignoring you at all."

"Even you couldn't possibly know that. Simple minded, really? Is that the best you can come up with?"

"Of course not. I could continue if you'd like."

"Trust me, it is entirely unnecessary."

"You haven't put your phone away yet."

"Excellent deduction, how on earth could you have figured that out?"

"Nothing on the table or below it could be so interesting as to hold you attention for so long, unless of course…"

"Oh shut up, Sherlock."

John watched their exchange with an easy smile, used to their constant bickering. They continued like this until a waitress came over to their table; she quickly took their order and left, thankfully without a snide jab from Sherlock. After that, the two settled into a peaceful silence.

"So, Sherlock, where exactly are you going again?"

"Belarus, John, to investigate the possibility of a case. I did tell you about it."

"Right… And when are you planning to be back?"

"The next day at the latest. I doubt it'll be take very long."

At that moment, Skye's phone rang, loudly emitting the sounds of a lightsaber being drawn. She grinned excitedly and opened the text.

- _So sorry for being silent all day, been busy with work._ _The answer to your first question is yes, shall we discuss it over dinner tonight? ;)-_

"Finally decided he was interested in you again?"

"Yes, and it looks like I'll be leaving. May be gone all night. Take home the food I ordered, will you?"

"Okay, Skye. Behave yourself," John chuckled as she stood up, grabbing her phone and jacket. She nodded quickly and headed out of the restaurant, waving quickly as she skipped off. He looked back at Sherlock, who had been watching her leave as well. "Figured out who it is yet, the mystery man?"

"Not a clue. I have, actually, been attempting to allow her to have her own personal life."

"Oh, how sweet of you. Not intruding for once."

Sherlock rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone, sending a quick text before looking back at John.

"She is your cousin, you should be respecting her personal life either way."

"I suppose any ordinary person would. But I'm not exactly ordinary, am I?"

"You're going to follow her, aren't you?"

Sherlock had already started to rise from his chair, but the tone in John's voice made him sit back down. He was trying to contain himself, not only for his dear cousin Skye, but for John as well. He knew it would please him if he made some attempt to reform his general behavior.

"Not tonight. Let her have her secrets for now. I'm sure someday I'll figure them out anyways."


End file.
